Written by Michael Palomba
More and more people are being laid off as a result of the coronavirus. Through March and the first half of April, almost 50,000 workers in San Diego suffered that fate.
The exact number was 46,217, according to the San Diego Workforce Partnership, and the layoffs span across 326 businesses. That’s an increase of 13,500 layoffs and 102 business from just one week earlier. According to the U.S Department of Labor, about three million Californians have filed for unemployment in the last few weeks alone.
According to the Workforce Partnership, those hardest hit were restaurant, bar, and hospitality employees. In total, 15,845 jobs were lost from the restaurant/bar industry and 14,104 from the hospitality industry. More than 5,000 retail jobs have been lost and arts, entertainment, and recreation jobs are down over 4,400.
President and CEO of the San Diego Workforce Partnership Peter Callstrom said that his organization is working to find jobs for people out of work.
“Our team is kicking into overdrive to identify the region’s open jobs and to connect job seekers with opportunities in this very dynamically changing time,” he said. “Online services and support are available to workers and employers. We are here to serve our region throughout the crisis and as we recover.”
Unfortunately, even with the partnership’s assistance, only around 1,500 jobs were posted in the past week. Additionally, most were skilled positions that many people don’t qualify for.
While the medical impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are covered daily, the economic devastation isn’t receiving as much attention as is warranted given its severity. If these unemployment numbers continue, the financial hardship imposed may in fact be worse than the health toll caused by the coronavirus.
